Emma Bradley had that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The secondary school where she served as head of sociology had received the dreaded phone call – Ofsted were coming.

The school had six weeks to prepare – a generous lead, seeing as schools are now given a day’s notice, or on some occasions ‘car park notice’ of 15 minutes.

‘The party line is that the school is being judged, not individuals,’ she explains. ‘But there was such a pressure. The whole dynamics of the school would shift. It was horrible.’

It’s been nearly 10 years since Emma quit teaching – a choice she made to spend more time with her young family. However, she can still remember the fear an impending Ofsted inspection struck into the hearts of teachers.

‘You are so exhausted, and then this adds an immense pressure,’ she says.

Ofsted, which was created in 1992 to inform parents about the performance of a school and raise standards, has long since drawn criticism for its high-stakes inspections of educators who are already overstretched, overworked and underpaid. However, the inspectorate has come under greater scrutiny in more recent weeks following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry.

Ruth, who was the popular head of Caversham Primary School in Reading, took her own life after the school was downgraded from ‘Outstanding’ – the top rating Ofsted could give – to Inadequate. The reasons why someone ends their life are often multitude and complex, but Ruth’s death has struck a chord with educators across the country. Some headteachers declined to let Ofsted inspect their school out of solidarity. Other teachers staged peaceful protests, or wore black armbands in honour of Ruth.

Meanwhile, others are now calling for Ofsted to be abolished. The National Education Union has handed in a petition to the Department for Education with over 40,000 signatures from across the profession demanding that the inspectorate is replaced.

Emma Bradley quit teaching a decade ago, but still sees Ofsted inspections as a school governor (Picture: Supplied)

In a statement released yesterday, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said that she wanted to ‘to set out some of the things we’re doing and reflect on the suggestions of more radical reform’.

This included looking at how Ofsted can return more quickly to schools who have work to do on safeguarding but are otherwise performing well, and piloting changes to their complaints process so isses can be addressed during an inspection rather than considered afterwards, which they admit creates ‘delay and frustration’.

However, one thing that won’t change is the single word grading of a school. ‘I certainly recognise that distilling all that a school is and does into a single word makes some in the sector uncomfortable, particularly when there are consequences of the grade awarded,’ said Spielman. ‘But as I’ve said previously, the overall grade currently plays an integral part in the wider school system.

‘Ofsted inspects, showcases good practice and, where necessary, diagnoses if there are significant issues at a school. That’s where the role we have been given stops. School improvement is the role of schools themselves, and school trusts, facilitated and supported by government.

‘It can take many forms, and government uses Ofsted’s overall grade to determine how best to support improvement. We also know that many parents find the grading system useful, whether that’s in choosing a school or to understand the one their child attends. So any new approach would need to meet the needs of the whole system.’

Teacher Charmaine Lee has nearly 30 years experience in the profession, and has seen first-hand on multiple occasions what a negative Ofsted score can do to morale.

‘It can break teachers,’ she explains. ‘When I was a newly qualified teacher, I taught English in a school in Brixton. We had a brutal inspection, where the school was marked as inadequate.

‘There were teachers who had been there for 30 years, who were being told they weren’t good enough. After the inspection, a lot of them left, feeling demoralised. Some were even signed off for stress.

‘It was awful as the school lost some hugely qualified professionals just because they had a rough inspection. It can devastate your career and the school you work at.

‘It also puts locals off from sending their child there. A poor Ofsted result can be awful for the school and the community all round.’

However, a positive Ofsted grade is something valued highly from schools and parents alike. A YouGov survey from 2020 saw four out of five parents describe inspection reports as useful, while data from Zoopla shows that houses in London in the catchment area of a school rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted can command up to 45% of the average house price elsewhere in the same postcode.

The National Education Union has handed in a petition to the Department for Education with over 40,000 signatures from across the profession demanding that the inspectorate is replaced. (Picture: PA)

In an inspection, schools are assessed on four key judgement criteria: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management. Inspectors then consider the school’s overall effectiveness before awarding one of four grades: ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’.

Schools are typically graded once every four years, but with the coronavirus pandemic, budget cuts and a general shortage of inspectors, some schools have not been examined in over a decade. Chief inspector Amanda Spielman, has announced plans for the inspectorate to examine all schools by August 2025.

It’s also a high-stakes system, with little room for error or extenuating circumstances. Some of the teachers that contributed to this piece compare having an inspection to doing an A-Level exam, with the result hanging over their career for what can be a very long time.

‘There’s no redos,’ Emma, who now serves on the board of governors at a local primary school, explains. ‘You don’t get a chance to explain any context about what might have happened and what was going on. A child can come into school in so many different emotions and for so many different reasons. None of that story is shared.

‘The report is based on just a snapshot of what inspectors see that day. It is in no way a holistic observation of what that school is.’

In 2019, Ofsted amended how their inspections were assessed. The most significant change is the creation of a new quality of education grade, which requires inspectors to place more focus on the curriculum. 

The lead inspector will also conduct a 90-minute phone interview with the headteacher the day before the inspection begins.

Reactions have been mixed. In a 13-page document, the Association of School and College Leaders described the new framework as ‘flawed’, adding: ‘Too many school leaders feel that the framework allows for overly subjective judgements to be made, that the quality of inspection teams is variable, and that inspection activity sometimes goes beyond that set out in the handbook.’

They also described the current grading system as ‘reductionist’ and ‘misleading.’

When Caversham Primary School was inspected, the school was considered Good in every category except leadership and management.

Ruth Perry’s death struck a chord with many educators, who have since protested against Ofsted inspection. (Picture: Brighter Futures for Children)

Ofsted reported the school had poor record keeping and failings in employment checks, which could have put children at risk. Because a safeguarding issue was highlighted, the entire school’s Ofsted rating was downgraded to Inadequate.

Alex Warner understands the frustrations that admin issues when it comes to record keeping leading to a poor Ofsted rating. As someone who is in the unique position as both an Ofsted inspector and senior leader at Milton Keynes College group, he knows how much pressure teachers are under during inspection, as well as how important it is to ensure admin is kept in good order.

’I’ve just experienced a frighteningly similar situation myself for the nursery, which forms part of Milton Keynes College group,’ he explains. ‘We realised that Ofsted didn’t have the correct name for our nursery. The lead inspector sensibly warned us the name needed to be changed officially before Monday or we could automatically be rated Inadequate. 

‘But pressure on staff, prioritising teaching and learning, meant that this name change had fallen through the cracks.’

While Alex hasn’t had the full Ofsted report back yet, the verbal feedback he received from inspectors was overwhelmingly positive – and so highlights the frustration of a school’s reputation to be labelled as Inadequate over an admin error.

Alex believes changes could be made to the inspection system to ease stress on overworked teachers (Picture: Supplied)

‘We want Ofsted reports to accurately reflect the quality of education in schools and colleges,’ he says. ‘So surely it would make sense when technical breaches of this kind take place, to be able to give a period of grace, say a week, for the administrative details to be taken care of?’

Having conducted several assessments since he started assisting inspectors in 2018, Alex believes Ofsted is a force for good. However, he concedes that perhaps more nuance is needed when inspections are being conducted.

‘Inspections need to involve more of a dialogue between teachers, leadership and inspectors,’ he explains. ‘If I find something on inspection that I wouldn’t want to see in my college I might then go and get the curriculum manager and say, “What do you see here? How do you want me to interpret this? Is this common? Can I talk to learners to confirm what’s been seen?” There should be a triangulation of evidence.

‘Inspectors need to have a degree of discretion. There needs to be some thought of: It would be ridiculous for this school to fail its Ofsted [inspection] on the basis of this small point, let’s actually do something to fix it rather than just bringing the hammer down and making sure that their reputation is ruined for however long it is.’

In the wake of Ruth Perry’s death, Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman issued a lengthy statement.

While she described Ruth’s death as a ‘tragedy’ and acknowledged the pressure headteachers faced, she disagreed inspections should be halted.

‘Inspection plays an important part,’ she wrote. ‘We help parents understand how their child’s school is doing and we help schools understand their strengths and areas for improvement. It’s important for that work to continue.’

However, teachers like Charmaine believe that Ofsted’s criteria can be seen as limited. While it’s clear parents value a school’s ranking and believe they have a direct impact on a child’s wellbeing and happiness, other studies point to the contrary: a 2020 report in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry stated that ‘Ofsted-rated school quality was a weak predictor of student wellbeing and student engagement’.

‘Because I came from a career in education, I can read between the lines of an Ofsted,’ Emma explains. ‘A lower Ofsted rating doesn’t deter me.

‘Not all children are academic. I like to see what extracurricular opportunities there are, how happy the children are – but you don’t necessarily get that from a one-word judgement grade.’

Emma adds that she believes Ofsted should take teachers wellbeing, as well as pupils into mind to better support those still in the industry: the Teacher Wellbeing Index, a survey commissioned by the Education Support charity, found that 77% of teachers experience poor mental health due to their work, and that 72% report being stressed and overworked.

Schools need to be inspected, but the government needs to work with unions to create a fairer, better system

‘It feels like Ofsted is too narrow and too quick in its approach,’ she explains. ‘Of course we need a process making schools accountable. Children’s lives are important so we do have to get it right. But I don’t think the current system does.’

Charmaine, however, favours a far more radical overhaul of education in the UK.

‘This is beyond Ofsted now, that just needs to be disbanded,’ she insists. ‘It’s lost its integrity.

‘We need to change the national curriculum to make it more suited to the modern world. Schools need to be inspected, but the government needs to work with unions to create a fairer, better system.

‘People get ill because of Ofsted stress. We need something fair for teachers and students. We need to end this culture of toxic testing.’

However, Alex strongly disagrees that Ofsted should be scrapped, arguing more regular tests, though on a more informal basis, would work best.

‘They need to recruit more inspectors on a local level to conduct frequent monitoring of schools,’ he explains. ‘More inspectors who know the history of the school, and can hold regular drop-ins for chats. They could be there to spot potential warning signs and fix problems before formal inspections.’

Meanwhile, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector Alison Spielman recent statement regarding calls for reform noted: ‘Inspection doesn’t exist to do teachers down, far from it, it exists to help children get the education they deserve and celebrate great practice. The part we play is small in comparison to those who work in our schools – but it’s in children’s interests that we work constructively together. In that spirit we will continue to explore ways to make our work as effective and collaborative as it can be.’

Regardless of whether the process changes, Alex, Emma and Charmaine all feel that far more needs to be done to retain teachers in the industry.

Research by the National Education Union found nearly half of all teachers (a staggering 44%) plan to leave schools altogether by 2027, with 52% saying their workload is ‘unmanageable.’ While negotiations for better pay and better conditions are ongoing, there’s a general consensus amongst educators that teachers’ concerns, whether about Ofsted or other matters, aren’t being listened to.

‘You can’t have a world-class education without world-class teachers,’ Alex says simply. ‘And you do that by attracting, recruiting and retaining them.

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‘It’s very hard to see why anybody would want to take up a job doing teaching. They can go and work 40 hours a week in another setting and earn twice as much with half the stress.’

‘The whole system for teachers is a mess,’ Charmaine adds. ‘It doesn’t need to be like that. We could work together to make things so much more positive.

‘It’s hideous how we treat teachers in this country.’

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‘People get ill because of Ofsted stress. We need something fair – we need to end this culture of toxic testing.’